Penalty Fair Letter (Northern Rail?)

[diamandis]

Hello all,

Short story -
I had an incorrect ticket, and at the ticket barrier a National Rail (?) employee questioned me and took my details. They said they would fill out an incident report and write to me. How long does the letter take to arrive? Do they send out a letter regardless of the outcome (penalty fare, 'case' dropped etc.)? Who must I contact to find out about the status of the incident report and if the letter has been sent?

Long story -
This Monday (31st Oct) was a dreadful day for me. I almost missed the train (Northern Rail, Earlestown to Liverpool LS), so didn't have time to buy a ticket. Usually a conductor comes down the train asking for tickets, so if I haven't had time to buy one at the ticket office, I buy one from the conductor. However, on that day, one didn't show... so I went to the ticket booth at Liverpool. I opened my purse and realised I hadn't picked up the £20 that I use to pay for my train ticket each day... so I panicked... and I asked for a ticket from Edge Hill to Lime Street as that was all I could afford from the change in my purse. After buying the ticket, a National Rail (?) employee pulled me aside and questioned me... again I panicked, and lied about my situation, as I was terrified of receiving a fine for an incorrect ticket (as I have paid for a full ticket every day for the past 3 years, and this has never happened before). So I told the employee I had come from earlestown, got off at edge hill to meet someone, then got on the next train to liverpool and bought a ticket for that journey, after throwing away my previous journey ticket. The employee took my details and said he'd review the incident, write a report, then write to me. How long does this letter usually take to arrive? Will I receive a letter either way (whether they've decided to charge me a penalty, or just a formal warning etc.)? I've read on both the Northern and National Rail sites that I have 14 days to respond before it's escalated further. Is this 14 days from the letter being sent out or 14 days from the incident? as its almost been a week, and not got a letter yet. I'm terrified incase it's got lost in the post, and the issue gets taken further because I didnt get a letter. Who can I contact to see if it has been sent?
I just want to pay the penalty fare, learn my lesson and get it over and done with. I don't want it escalating, going to court and receiving a criminal record. Nothing like this has happened before, and I'm not the type of person to cheat a system or avoid paying fare... so I am really upset and worried what will happen... I'm not even sleeping because of it.

Thankyou for any help!

 

[yorkie]

Northern Rail don't operate a Penalty Fare scheme, so that's not applicable.

They will either choose to prosecute you, or alternatively they may offer you the opportunity to settle the matter out of court (possibly for £80) to avoid a prosecution.

If they don't offer you that opportunity, you could contact them and make an offer.

It is in their interests (and obviously yours too) to settle the matter out of court because they would get to keep the settlement money, and the earlier the matter is settled and the less investigating they have to do, the lower their costs will be.

If it does go to court , you can either plead guilty or you can contest it, but as you don't have a valid defence, it would probably be unwise to do so. If found guilty, you'd be issued with a fine as well as having to pay the company's costs. I also wouldn't try to represent yourself in court; appointing a solicitor is recommended.

More information about disputes and prosecutions can be found in our Fares Guide.

 

[diamandis]

So who must I contact to speak to someone about it?

Also, how long does the letter take to arrive?

 

[yorkie]

You will get a letter from Northern Rail, with details on how to respond.

We cannot say when you will receive the letter, it may depend on how busy they are.

 

[najaB]

You will get a letter from Northern Rail, with details on how to respond.

We cannot say when you will receive the letter, it may depend on how busy they are.

To expand a little on Yorkie's answer, in matters like this Northern (or any other train company) has up to six months to commence legal proceedings. So, while in a typical case the letter would arrive in a few weeks, it could be April or May before you hear anything.

 

[6Gman]

Hello all,



Long story -
This Monday (31st Oct) was a dreadful day for me. I almost missed the train (Northern Rail, Earlestown to Liverpool LS), so didn't have time to buy a ticket. Usually a conductor comes down the train asking for tickets, so if I haven't had time to buy one at the ticket office, I buy one from the conductor. However, on that day, one didn't show... so I went to the ticket booth at Liverpool. I opened my purse and realised I hadn't picked up the £20 that I use to pay for my train ticket each day... so I panicked... and I asked for a ticket from Edge Hill to Lime Street as that was all I could afford from the change in my purse. After buying the ticket, a National Rail (?) employee pulled me aside and questioned me... again I panicked, and lied about my situation, as I was terrified of receiving a fine for an incorrect ticket (as I have paid for a full ticket every day for the past 3 years, and this has never happened before). So I told the employee I had come from earlestown, got off at edge hill to meet someone, then got on the next train to liverpool and bought a ticket for that journey, after throwing away my previous journey ticket. The employee took my details and said he'd review the incident, write a report, then write to me. How long does this letter usually take to arrive? Will I receive a letter either way (whether they've decided to charge me a penalty, or just a formal warning etc.)?

If you've been travelling daily for 3 years wouldn't a Season Ticket make sense?

(The railway might wonder why not if you refer to this in any correspondence.)

 

[MikeWh]

If you've been travelling daily for 3 years wouldn't a Season Ticket make sense?

(The railway might wonder why not if you refer to this in any correspondence.)

Not always. There are plenty of examples of contra-peak-flow commutes where a season ticket is not worthwhile because the anytime return fare is better value. I nearly did one myself between Crayford and Rochester.

 

[Solent&Wessex]

You will get a letter from Northern Rail, with details on how to respond.

We cannot say when you will receive the letter, it may depend on how busy they are.

I am reliably led to believe that Northern are currently extremely busy with a huge number of similar cases since the barriers were installed at Lime Street.

Edge Hill may well overtake Clapham Junction for the number of entries and exists!!

 

[gray1404]

But there have been manual barriers at Lime Street covering platforms 1-6 for years.

 

[sheff1]

But there have been manual barriers at Lime Street covering platforms 1-6 for years.

Well, yes ... but you didn't need a valid ticket to pass through them.

 

[gray1404]

Well, yes ... but you didn't need a valid ticket to pass through them.

In theory you did. Lol but then again were tickets ever really checked on the manual barriers at Lime Street.

 

[185]

In theory you did. Lol but then again were tickets ever really checked on the manual barriers at Lime Street.

A certain lady who was there for 20 years was brilliant, retired now. Some days, not bothered one hoot you could show a library ticket, but other days, keen as mustard grabbing everyone that went past, often hurling them towards the ticket office - really was like a coiled spring.

 

[northwichcat]

Well, yes ... but you didn't need a valid ticket to pass through them.

You don't need a valid ticket to get through automated barriers. The barriers would think nothing of an Edge Hill to Lime Street ticket being produced by someone who has just alighted a Newcastle-Lime Street train which hasn't stopped since Manchester Victoria.

 

[island]

Why didn't you pay for your ticket by card?